Woodside Petroleum is remaining tight lipped on speculation that it will shelve its $45 billion Browse LNG project in Western Australia.

There are media reports that Woodside has told both the WA and Federal governments it has decided not to proceed with the project at James Price Point, north of Broome, because it cannot develop it profitably.

Woodside is expected to release a statement to the stock exchange this morning regarding the project.

Yesterday, West Australian Premier Colin Barnett denied he has been told by Woodside that the company has walked away from the project.

"I have continual discussions with Woodside and it's not for me to comment publicly, particularly to market-sensitive information, as to what decisions might be," he said.

"By July we will know what the situation is.

"I have not received advice to that effect from the joint venture partners at all.

"They are collectively to make a decision, a final investment decision around June-July this year, that is the process."

Woodside and the Federal Government have declined to comment.

The company and its joint-venture partners are due to make a final investment decision by the middle of the year.

'Valuable asset'

The Broome Chamber of Commerce says Woodside has told some contractors to stop work but that does not mean there are plans to abandon the project.

The chamber's Maryanne Petersen says there has been some change in the instructions given to local companies working at the project.

"Some people have been told not to proceed with certain activities that were planned," she said.

"I don't think we should read too much into that. It could be that Woodside have enough information to make a decision.

"I don't think we should automatically assume the project's not going ahead."

However he says it is extremely unlikely Woodside would abandon the highly valuable gas resource altogether.

He says it is likely the company will further explore the option of a floating LNG facility or gas pipeline to extract the gas.

"It may have become too hard for James Price Point and the people who have objected to that may get their way but the fact is there is an extremely valuable asset and a way will be found to get it out of the ground and monetise it," he said.

"It's just a case of you have to get a financial return, you have to make it politically acceptable and you have to find the technology that's best and what's happened is the technology factor has changed."

Free trade is the oldest argument in federal politics and the issue that literally defined the federation era but opposition exists to the TPP, courtesy of the Investor-State Dispute Resolutions clause.